Nuisance beggar in Fareham breaches town centre ban - the day after receiving court order

A NUISANCE beggar has breached a court order banning her from Fareham’s town centre - just one day after receiving the ban.
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Rebecca Trudy Connolly had been issued a Criminal Behaviour Order at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Monday July 1, after she admitted approaching members of the public and begging for money.

She was first spotted in West Street in Fareham on Tuesday July 2, and the next day she approached an elderly man and woman at Sainsbury's Broadcut car park and asked for money.

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Twenty-eight year-old Connolly incurred the ban after breaching a community protection notice by directing ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour’ at a woman in West Street in January.

Sainsbury's in Broadcut, Fareham, where Rebecca Connolly was spotted.Sainsbury's in Broadcut, Fareham, where Rebecca Connolly was spotted.
Sainsbury's in Broadcut, Fareham, where Rebecca Connolly was spotted.

The conditions of her CBO ban her from entering or remaining in areas of the town centre, as well as an area around Speedfields Park

A further condition of the order forbids Connolly from leaving drug paraphernalia in a public place.

The bans follows a special community action meeting last month, in which Fareham Borough Council Leader Sean Woodward met with residents to hear their concerns about crime in the town centre, including drug taking and persistent begging.

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Cllr Woodward said ‘decent people’ needed to be ‘protected’ from anti-social and criminal behaviour.

He said: ‘There is a large amount of work that is going on behind the scenes.

‘People do not see the work that goes on, but this story shows that work is being undertaken.

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‘Fareham Street Aid are meeting regularly and our Community Safety team is working very closely with the police, with our encouragement.

‘Decent people have every right to be protected.’

One resident of West Street said work to address crime had led to a noticeable decrease in anti-social behaviour, but she was concerned it had ‘not gone away.’

She said: ‘It’s clearly got a bit better on the High Street - but they will be back.’

Connolly admitted four breaches of her criminal behaviour order at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

She was remanded into custody and will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on August 2.